Marissa Nesbit to receive national dance educator award

Marissa Nesbit, assistant professor of dance, recently was named the 2024 Outstanding Dance Educator in Higher Education in the “established” category by the National Dance Education Organization. She will receive the award during a ceremony Sept. 5.   

Nesbit, who is the dance education coordinator in the Department of Dance, teaches dance education methods courses, supervises student teachers and engages in qualitative research projects that investigate aspects of dance curriculum and pedagogy in K12 contexts.

She is influenced by a widely varied academic background that contributes to her understanding of dance as deeply intertwined with other academic, artistic and life pursuits. After completing an undergraduate degree in psychobiology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, she worked as a special education teacher before returning to school to complete a Master of Fine Arts in Dance at Texas Woman’s University.

Nesbit is a founding board member of the North Carolina Dance Education Organization, the state chapter of the NDEO, which advances the field of dance education and represents more than 4,200 members from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 25 other countries.

Each year, the NDEO honors one “emerging” (five years or less experience) and one “established” (six years or more experience) educator in the higher education setting.

According to the NDEO, award recipients should inspire and motivate their students and have a significant impact in their school community.

Learn more about her path as a dance educator and her teaching philosophy in this faculty spotlight.